Latest Articles
Federal Circuit issues clarifying opinion on Definiteness vs Indefiniteness test
The Federal Circuit recently clarified its interpretation of a major Supreme Court case involving the standard of definiteness and when a patent may be determined indefinite. Previously the Federal Circuit has held that a claim is indefinite “only when it is ‘not amenable to construction’ or ‘insolubly ambiguous.’” In Biosig Instruments, Inc. v. Nautilus, Inc. […]
Federal Circuit issues clarifying opinion on Direct Infringement vs. Induced Infringement
The Federal Circuit recently clarified its interpretation of a major Supreme Court case involving direct infringement. In Akamai Technologies, Inc. v. Limelight Networks the Federal Circuit issued a new opinion that said direct infringement of a method claim “exists when all of the steps of the claim are performed by or attributed to a single […]
Federal Circuit: Limited Power to Hear Appeals on Motions to Stay
In Intellectual Ventures v. JPMorgan, the Federal Circuit held that the mere filing of a petition for covered business method (CBM) patent review or post-grant review (PGR) under the AIA did not give it the jurisdiction to hear an appeal of a decision on a motion to stay trial court proceedings. In this case, Intellectual […]
Important Trademark Decision May have Implications for Patent Law
In B&B Hardware v. Hargis Industries, the U.S. Supreme Court held that a decision from the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) can prevent a district court from re-judging issues that have already been decided by the TTAB’s decision, if the “ordinary elements” of issue preclusion are met. This is despite the fact that the […]
Federal Circuit Issues First IPR Opinion
The Federal Circuit has issued its first opinion from an appeal on the merits of an inter partes review, In re Cuozzo Speed Techs. In In re Cuozzo, the court held that the decisions of the USPTO to institute an IPR are final and cannot be appealed to the Federal Circuit, and that the USPTO’s […]